


Positive

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Laura Barton, BAMF Michelle Jones, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Hurt Michelle Jones, Kidnapping, Michelle Jones Needs a Hug, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Touching, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Panic Attacks, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Torture, not super explicit though, tony stark survives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22259692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Who knew that one word could turn someone’s world upside down? It wasn’t even a word associated with hurt, sickness, or death. It was one that usually brings people joy. Something to celebrate. For Michelle Jones (MJ), this one word almost cost her her life.-Previously ‘The negatives of a positive’. -
Relationships: Laura Barton & Michelle Jones, Michelle Jones & Avengers Team, Michelle Jones & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Michelle Jones & Pepper Potts, Michelle Jones & Tony Stark, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> I am attempting this writing thing again. It's a work in progress. I have an idea of where I want to go with this, but honestly I have no clue how this is gonna end. Anyway, any tips, advice, suggestions, or feedback is always welcome! Thanks for reading. 
> 
> There could be possible triggers in this story, so read at your own discretion.

Six months ago she was happy. Happier than MJ had ever been. She was at NYU getting her degree in communications with an emphasis on public relations. Her job at a small bookshop was going well - the old lady who owned the shop become a sort of pseudo grandmother to MJ. And she had the most amazing boyfriend (who just so happened to be your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man). Peter Parker had somehow managed to worm his way into MJ’s heart their junior year of high school and they’ve been inseparable ever since.

Thanks to Peter’s mentor and father figure, Tony Stark, the two of them lived together in one of the many oversized apartments throughout the Avengers Tower. MJ had been apprehensive in the beginning, because heaven knows those apartments are expensive, and she is not one to accept charity. It took some persuading - meaning Peter begged her, and no one in their right mind can say no to those puppy dog eyes - but MJ finally agreed. Stark had been adamant about not accepting rent. The first time she tried to talk to him about it, he waved her off and reminded her that he was a billionaire. Let me tell you, Tony and Peter still wince when someone asks about what happened after that. While now knowing just how scary Michelle Jones can be, Tony still refused to accept any money from her. Feeling thoroughly annoyed, MJ did the most reasonable thing that she could think of at that moment, and took Morgan to a toy store to buy the loudest and most annoying toy - a drum set. 

Pepper had come home that day to be greeted by the sight of Tony on the couch, pulling at his hair, while Morgan continued to beat her new drum set, off beat, while Baby Shark played over the speakers. Apparently, MJ had convinced FRIDAY to play Baby Shark on repeat for a few hours and to only stop when she asked. Not even Tony trying to override the command would stop the music. 

After a quick intervention (read: Pepper scolding Tony after he threatened to kick the two young adults out of the tower while Peter and MJ sat on the couch eating popcorn), Pepper offered MJ a paid internship at Stark Industries - housing being one of the benefits - and in return, MJ had to get FRIDAY to stop playing the music. 

Thinking back on her life from six months ago, the empty feeling in her stomach sent a small wave a nausea over MJ. She blinked back the tears that were prickling at her eyes and took a deep breath, willing the sick feeling to go away. The cheap motel room she had been staying in for the past week suddenly felt too dark and too small. Grabbing a hat and coat, MJ ventured outside for a short walk. Being back in New York was different. Sure, it was familiar and it felt like home, but there was an uneasy feeling that lingered in the background of her mind. A feeling that she was being watched at all times. It probably wasn’t safe for her to be back in the city, but she needed some sense of normal for a little bit.

Making her way down the street, she kept her head tilted down, letting the bill of her hat shadow her face. MJ knew better than to ignore her surroundings, but her mind kept wandering back to her old life. To Peter and Morgan playing silly games in the living room. To the family dinners where Morgan would complain about eating peas and Pepper would come up with some elaborate story as to why the peas would feel lonely if they didn't get to join the party in her stomach. To Tony and Pepper treating her like their own child. That last memory hurt and MJ found herself unable to stop the tears that trickled out from her eyes.

Having become so absorbed in her thoughts, MJ didn’t notice the small group of people who stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the all clear before continuing on their way. She ran straight into the back of one of the people, which effectively snapped her back to the present. 

“Oh shit!” MJ took a few steps back “I am so sorry, I wa-”

Her apology cut short when the man turned around and met her eyes. 

Peter.

Her eyes grew wide at the same time his did. She felt frozen. He looked her up and down taking her in, as if to make sure she was real. His eyes stopping at her stomach for a few moments before he quickly looked up, confusion written all over his face. After what felt like a lifetime, the reality of the situation brought her reeling back in. 

MJ turned on her heel and pushed her way back through the crowd of people on the sidewalk. She hurried to turn the corner, hoping that Peter was too stunned to follow after her. If she could just get back to her motel room, everything would be fine. She could pack the few things she had and leave in the middle of the night. She would go somewhere Peter couldn’t find her. Maybe Michigan? Or Wisconsin? Or Oregon? 

A gentle hand grabbed her arm, pulling her to face the owner. Peter stood there looking pale and confused. “MJ?” He questioned in a whisper, as if he were afraid that he was imagining this whole thing. 

“Please let me go” MJ pleaded. She couldn’t risk getting caught. Not after everything that had happened. Not after she managed to escape. 

“No, not until you explain why you left.”

“Peter please, it’s not safe. You need to let me go.” MJ refused to make eye contact, knowing it would make it harder to leave. She kept glancing around them, at the people passing by, hoping no one was watching.

“I’m not leaving you” He answered. There was something to his voice that told MJ there was no point in fighting it. 

Instead of saying anything else, MJ looked at him for a moment before grabbing his hand and pulling him along as she made her way back to her motel room. 

Neither Peter nor MJ seemed to want to break the silence once they made it inside the room. MJ was quick to lock the door, securing the deadbolt. She then checked that the windows were still locked and was fiddling around with something on the desk. 

A few minutes passed before Peter had had enough. “Why did you leave?”

“It’s a long story.'' was all MJ gave him.

“I’m willing to listen.”

“Peter…”

“No, you said it wasn’t safe. What did you mean by that?” He cut in, knowing she was about to ask him to stop.

MJ was tired and emotional and angry. So when she snapped at Peter, she couldn’t stop the venom from seeping into her tone. “What I mean, Peter, is that fucking HYDRA is looking for me and just by being with you, puts us both in danger. You need to go before they find us.”

Peter was silent for a moment as he tried to understand what she had just said. The weight of those words hitting him full force. “HYDRA is after you? Why are they after you? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have kept you safe. Tony would have helped. We need to tell Tony. He’ll know what to do. I’m calling Tony.” He pulled out his phone and put it up to his ear.

“No!” MJ shook her head, trying to stop Peter. “You can’t tell Tony.”

“Why not? Tony can help.” He said, phone still to his ear.

MJ could hear Tony’s voice through the phone when he answered, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. Her heart rate was picking up and the panic taking over as she realized that her cover was blown. Breathing was getting harder and harder. Her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she rocked back and forth on the bed. The fear of being taken again was overwhelming and soon the dark spots in her vision grew, taking over everything.   
Peter felt helpless as he tried to get MJ to breathe. He tried to make eye contact but she would just stare past him, as if he wasn’t there. Then her eyes rolled back as she fell unconscious. He was quick to stop her from falling off the bed and laid her back so she was resting on the bed. 

It didn’t take long for her to come back around. Slowly at first, and then all at once as she jerked away from Peter and sat up quickly. She took in her surroundings, looking at Peter sitting on the edge of the bed, and remembered why she had her panic attack in the first place. Taking a deep breath and then letting it out as she sighed, “He’s coming isn’t he?”

“Yeah, He should be here any minute now.”

The old saying “Speak of the Devil and he shall appear” was eerily accurate, when not even a second later a loud knock came from the door. 

Peter looked at MJ for a moment before he jumped and went to answer the door. 

MJ got up quickly and sat in the armchair next to the bed. Before focusing her attention back towards the door where Peter and Tony both stood talking quietly to each other before fully walking inside and closing the door. 

As soon as Tony saw MJ he breathed a sigh of relief before making his way over to her. He only stopped when he noticed the way she flinched and brought her arms up, as if to protect herself. 

“MJ, I’m glad you’re okay. Pepper and I have been so worried and Morgan keeps asking about you.” He hoped she could hear the concern in his voice.

“Let’s skip the pleasantries, we both know what you want. The baby is okay, but there is no way in hell I am going back.” 

Tony’s eyes quickly dropped to her stomach, taking in the not-so-little bump that he had somehow missed at first. “Oh my God, You’re pregnant.”

“You really gonna keep up the act?” MJ questioned, her eyes narrowing. “Are you really going to pretend that you haven’t been holding me kidnapped for the last five months in order to do experiments on me and the baby?”


	2. Positive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that first chapter kind of ended on a cliffhanger, but I regret nothing. Anyway, here's this next chapter for you. I've added some tags, but there are definite possible triggers. Mentions of Kidnapping, Sexual Assault, and Torture. Please read at your own discretion. 
> 
> As always any ideas, feedback, suggestions, or comments are more than welcome! Enjoy.

“What?” Tony whispered, his face falling into a frown. He looked like a child whose ice cream had slipped off the cone. He tried to take a step forward, but Peter stepped in front of him, placing a hand against his chest.

“Is it true?” Peter asked.

“No! I would never. I, I don’t know why you think I would do something like that.” Tony pleaded, looking over Peter’s shoulder at MJ. “You’re like family to me. You and Pete and Morgan are my kids. I don’t understand.”

Peter turned his head to watch MJ. She still hadn’t moved. A small part of her wanted to trust Tony. She had never actually seen him, but she heard people talk about “doing this for Stark”. Either way, someone was out to get her baby and she was not going to let that happen. 

“MJ, will you please tell us what happened?” Tony was looking at his shoes, looked more unsure and vulnerable than she had ever seen before. 

So she did.

~f~l~a~s~h~b~a~c~k~

MJ was staring at the two sticks on the bathroom counter. A very clear ‘POSITIVE’ showing on both. She was pregnant. 

She was pregnant?

Michelle Jones - who was known to be judgmental, sarcastic, and emotionless - was going to be a mother?

She let out a long slow breath as her thoughts spun around in her head. Sitting on the closed toilet seat she held her head in her hands and cried. How could anyone think that she was fit to be a mother? How was she to care for a small human and love them? She was fine with Morgan, because she could give her back to her parents if she was grumpy or sad, but to be the one who has to comfort the child, was a whole other story. 

MJ sat there for a good half hour before she deemed her ‘self pity time’ over. She got up, splashed some water on her face, hid the two pregnancy tests, and then walked into the kitchen to make some dinner. Peter was out on his nightly patrol and would be back soon to refuel before leaving again. 

As she pulled out the ingredients she thought about the future and all the things that would change. MJ was still deep in thought when Peter came climbing through the window. He walked up behind her and slid his hands around her waist, head resting on her shoulder. “How was patrol?”, She asked out of habit. 

“It was good. I stopped four muggings, a bank robber, a car thief, and helped a lost kid find his parents.” Peter planted a quick kiss on her cheek. 

MJ felt her heart jump a little as Peter mentioned the kid. She knew it was unreasonable. He didn’t know yet that she was pregnant. Why was she so jumpy? It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to tell him, but she wanted to be one hundred percent certain before she said anything. 

Dinner went by quickly, and soon Peter was giving her a kiss goodbye before jumping out the window to go be a hero. It was too early for bed, MJ knew that, but she didn’t think she’d get anything else done that night. She took a quick shower, put on comfy pajamas, and climbed in their bed. Pulling out her laptop, she googled ‘what to do when you’re pregnant’. The rest of the night was filled with MJ writing notes about things she had read on parenting websites. As her eyes started to droop and she found herself unable to focus on the words, she closed her laptop and notebooks and let sleep take over. 

The next morning MJ made her way down to the Medbay. With the unnecessary number of times Peter had found himself in need of medical care, MJ had become acquainted with Dr. Cho and trusted the woman enough to keep the pregnancy a secret. 

When she walked into the Medbay, Dr. Cho was nowhere to be seen, but another doctor was in there typing on a computer. MJ cleared her throat so as not to startle them. “Excuse me, do you know where Dr. Cho is?” 

The doctor turned to face MJ. For a moment she looked nervous, but she quickly regained composure and shook her head, giving MJ a small smile. “No, I haven’t. Is there something I could help you with?”

MJ thought for a second about waiting for Dr. Cho, but the woman was incredibly busy and MJ didn’t want to put anything else on her plate. “I just needed to get some blood work done..to, um...to check if im..pregnant.”

The woman motioned for MJ to sit on one of the beds. While gathering the material she eyed MJ closely. “Can I ask who the father is?” seeing the uncertain look on MJ’s face she quickly added, “I’m very good at keeping secrets, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Peter Parker”

“Oh, he’s Spider-Man, right?” the doctor asked as she started to draw blood. 

“Mhmm” MJ answered. She wasn’t so fond of needles and didn’t feel like talking. 

“All done.” 

MJ was quick to hop off the bed. “So, how long will it take for the results?”

“I can get them right now.” the doctor walked over to another computer and pulled on some gloves. She placed the tube into a machine before pressing a few buttons. The machine hummed as it started to run the test. Just over three minutes later the machine quieted down and the doctor went over to look at the computer screen. “Congratulations, you’re pregnant!” 

It was now official and MJ found herself smiling. Even with all her doubts and worries, she was going to be a mom and MJ was excited. She thanked the doctor before turning to leave. MJ was thinking of all the cliche things she could do to tell Peter. Nothing could dampen her mood. 

MJ doesn’t remember what happened after that. All she knows is she woke up with a pounding headache in a cold, dark room. She tried to figure out where she was, but the only other thing in the room was a dirty mattress in one corner. The panic soon set in as she realized there was no escape from this room.

“I see you’re awake now miss Jones.” a voice thick with a german accent said, making MJ jump. “I know the room is less than ideal right now, but we can upgrade you to something better if you cooperate with us.”

“Who are you” MJ’s voice was scratchy and her throat was dry. “What do you want from me?”

“Well you see miss Jones, we are HYDRA. You have a magnificent gift, that we want. Unfortunately, we have to be patient. Your baby is only a month along and we need it to be at its very best when we study the spider DNA. We are also curious if the mutant genes can be passed to you while you carry this baby. For now, you may rest. We will give you some time to adjust before we start the experimentation.”

And with that, it was quiet again. MJ felt like she couldn’t breathe. The words the voice had said were echoing around in her head. She felt dizzy. MJ made her way over to sit on the mattress. 

A loud bang, pulled MJ from her sleep. When she opened her eyes, she saw that a small light on the ceiling had been turned on and there was a tray of food sitting on the ground. The loud growl in her stomach reminded her of how hungry she was.

And so this was how it went. For two weeks, MJ would wake up to find that someone had brought in a day's worth of food. Sometimes there was something else left behind. They had given her a few books, a change of clothes, and a blanket. Twice a day a door would open to a small bathroom. 

After a couple weeks, MJ saw the first person. A man had come into her room and mumbled something about moving. She then had a bag thrown over head and her hands were tied together. They led her down a couple of long hallways before stopping in a new room. They took off the bounds before leaving. This new room was large and clean. It had a big bed, a bookshelf full of books, and a sitting area. MJ was cautious about this new room. If they were giving her something better, it was probably meant to be used as an incentive to cooperate. 

The new room meant pain. 

It wasn’t a physical pain - not at first. Most of the time they didn’t even touch her, but the way the men would stare at her and comment on her body as they made her strip naked, was painful in a way that would never stop. They made her sit in a - for lack of a better word - steam room for half an hour before moving her to a freezer for another half an hour. She then would be taken for a shower, given clean clothes, and lead back to her room. 

One man though, had started to pin her up against a wall while letting his hands roam around her body. She tried to fight him, but he would just tie her hands up and gag her mouth. Then one became two, two became three, and the pattern continued.

MJ made the mistake of refusing to take off her clothes one day. That’s when the beatings started. Nothing that would hurt the baby, but enough for MJ to beg them to stop. When hitting was no longer satisfying to them men, they took to carving words into her back with their knives. It became a competition between the men to see who could write the longest word before MJ passed out from the pain. 

One night, after a particularly bad day, MJ had heard a couple of men talking outside her room.

“How much longer do we have to keep her?” a low voice growled.

“Until the baby is born. Then we can get rid of her.” the second voice replied. 

“He better appreciate what we’ve been doing. We’re doing all this for Stark, because he doesn’t have the guts to do it himself.”

The men continued to walk down the hall, leaving MJ to question why Tony Stark would do this to her. She had trusted the man. He looked after her and took care of her like she was one of his own. 

MJ heard several more conversations in which Tony Stark’s name had been brought up. It was hard to understand most of the conversations, but MJ could make out enough to know that Stark was somehow involved. 

This routine went on for four months, until one day an alarm sounded. The noise was loud and the lights flashed. A man came running in her room and dragged her out with no explanation. He shoved her in the back of a van and drove off quickly. There were two men driving the truck. They started talking about a raid and keeping the asset safe. After what seemed like hours, they came to a stop and one of the men said he was going to fill the car up while the other mentioned the bathroom. 

A gas station. They were at a gas station. 

MJ felt something she hadn’t felt since they took her - hope. She could hear the noises of other people at the station. Thinking back on it, the idea that two HYDRA agents would leave the door to the van unlocked, is pretty stupid, but the universe must have felt pretty crappy about the situation MJ was in (and the author got a little bit lazy), because the door was unlocked. 

As soon as the door was open, MJ looked around. She had seen enough crime shows to know that trying to run as far away as possible was not a good idea. Instead, she carefully closed the car door, hoping they wouldn’t check that she was still there. MJ decided that she would wait behind the small store until the men left. Then she could find a way to get home with Peter. 

Home. With Peter. Where Stark was.

Shit.


	3. Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to get something out today. I hope y’all are enjoying this story! 
> 
> As always - ideas, feedback, comments, or suggestions are more than welcomed! 
> 
> Thanks for reading

“We were in Maine when I was able to get away. I hid out in a motel for a week before I decided it was safe enough for me to move on and I’ve been hiding out here for about a week now.” MJ finished her story, taking in the two men before her. 

Peter was pale, but there was also a slight tinge of green to his face like her was going to be sick. He had tears running down his face and his hands were shaking violently, despite the tight fists he had them clinched in. 

Tony had his head held in his hands. In fingers were pulling at the ends of his hair and his eyes were shut tightly. 

Peter acted first, moving so he was kneeling in front of MJ. He looked like he wanted to reach out and hold her, but held himself back. He opened his mouth a few times, like he was going to say something, but nothing came out. Carefully with one hand he reached out and cupped MJ’s cheek. “I’m so sorry”, he barely managed to get out. 

MJ rolled her eyes, “It’s not your fault. It’s his.” She motioned with her head to where Tony had now sat on the edge of the bed. 

As if he had forgotten Tony was there, Peter jerked his head to look at Tony. In the blink of an eye, Peter was on his feet, pushing Tony against the wall. “You better have one hell of an explanation.”

Tony held his hands up, palms facing forward. He looked scared and confused. “Pete, I had nothing to do with this. I swear, I would never do anything to hurt her. Please, you have to believe me.”

“How can I? MJ just said that she heard people talking about doing it for you. I thought I could trust you.” 

“I don’t know why people would say they were doing it for me. Look, kid, If I were in your shoes I’d be thinking the same thing, but she said there was a raid. A month ago the Avengers did a raid of a HYDRA base just outside of Maine. If that’s the same base she was at, why would I send the Avengers there?” Tony tried to reason.

“Maybe you didn’t have a choice? It would be suspicious if you tried to talk the team out of storming a HYDRA base.” MJ answered. 

“I guess that’s true, but FRIDAY was the one who alerted me about the base after she caught sight of it from one of the SI satellites. I could have just erased the alert and no one would have known any different.”

“Can we ask FRIDAY ourselves?” Peter questioned. 

Tony slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “FRIDAY, give Peter and MJ full access to any information they want. Override all protocols prohibiting you from answering.”

“Yes, Boss. Full access has been given.” FRIDAY spoke smoothly.

Peter looked at MJ before turning his attention back to the phone. “FRIDAY, can you confirm Tony’s story?”

It was silent for a minute before she spoke again. “Yes Peter. My satellites did pick up the HYDRA base and I alerted Boss immediately. The team was then informed and they left that evening to raid the base.” FRIDAY paused for a second and then continued, “Might I add, nothing seems to be out of place from a month before Miss Jones was taken to now. I even have on record that Boss went a whole week without sleep trying to locate Miss Jones.”

There was silence for a minute. “So, say you’re telling the truth Stark. What do we do now?” MJ asked. 

She still wasn’t sure how much she could trust him, but she was willing to give Tony a chance to prove himself.

Tony suggested they go back to the Tower. He needed to search through the video footage to see who the doctor was that did MJ’s blood work. He also wanted Dr. Cho to take a look at the scars on MJ’s back to make sure there wasn’t any infection. 

MJ and Peter finally agreed to go with the conditions that Tony wasn’t allowed to tell anyone besides Dr.Cho that MJ was back. They wanted to keep this as hidden as possible until they were able to figure out who had taken her. 

It felt good to be back in the Tower. MJ felt safe. Well, more so she felt safe being with Peter, but the tower was familiar. 

Tony had left to go get Dr.Cho, leaving Peter and MJ alone for a few minutes. “The baby is mine?” Peter had been silent the whole trip back to the Tower. 

“Yeah, we’re gonna be parents”, MJ smiled looking at her baby bump. She never got to be excited about this baby. Of course her stomach had been getting larger and she had felt the baby kicking and squirming, but she was mainly focused on serving. 

Peter had tears in his eyes as the flood of emotions that come along with parenthood rushed over him. He leaned is slowly and gave MJ a quick kiss. “I thought you had left me.” Peter confessed, his forehead still pressing into MJ’s. 

“I could never.” MJ reassured. “Peter, I love you and I don’t ever want to imagine a world without you. The only thing that kept me from losing myself these past five months was the thought of coming home to you.” 

Before Peter could answer a soft knock came from the door. He got up and went to answer it. Tony walked in with Dr.Cho behind him looking confused. Her eyes landed on MJ and she smiled. “You’re back. You had us all so worried. Especially these two.” She jerked her thumb over at Tony and Peter. “Care to explain to me why you left?” 

“You didn’t tell her?” MJ asked Tony skeptically. 

“I thought you’d want to” 

So MJ told Dr. Cho a watered down version of what happened. The woman reacted similarly to how Peter and Tony had. She immediately grabbed the medical bag she brought up with her and was fiddling with something inside. “Let me check those scars.” She said with finality to her voice. 

Tony stepped out of the room leaving Peter, MJ, and Dr. Cho. 

MJ hadn’t been able to bring herself to look at the scars on her back. She knew it was bad, but when she took her shirt off, she caught a glimpse in the mirror and winced. 

Peter sucked in a sharp breath before apologizing and leaving the room. A few seconds later there was a large crash in the living room, which caused both MJ and Dr. Cho to jump. Peter then walked back into the room, a fresh set of tears on his cheeks, and mumbled another quick apology. Instead of being behind MJ like he was before, Peter now kneeled in front of her, holding her hands. 

Dr. Cho had immediately told them that the wounds were almost completely healed on their own and there was no sign of infection. She then pulled out a portable ultrasound machine, saying she wanted to check on the baby. 

Hearing the quick flutter of the baby’s heartbeat sounding from the machine, MJ couldn’t help the laugh that escaped from her mouth or the tears that began to flow. 

“Would you like to know the gender?” Dr. Cho asked quietly. 

Peter and MJ shared a quick glance before nodding their heads excitedly. 

Dr. Cho pointed to a spot on the ultrasound machine to show the expecting parents the sex of the baby. “It’s a girl, congratulations!”


	4. Calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter!   
> These are becoming harder to write. Honestly, the only part of this story that kept floating around in my head was the beginning chapter. So I’m making this up as I go and I’m hoping I end up with a semi decent story. 
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoy!   
> Thanks for reading!  
> And, As always, any tips, advice, ideas, suggestions, feedback, etc. is more than welcome and super appreciated!

Peter and MJ were ecstatic, to say the least. Their baby was a girl! Dr. Cho had left after she finished her check up on the baby, leaving the soon-to-be parents to themselves. She had put MJ on bed rest for a week to take as much stress off of her body as possible. Peter was under orders to make sure MJ was drinking lots of water and eating full meals. 

While they still feared that someone would try to take their baby, they couldn’t help to relish in the moment. They sat for an hour talking to the baby and trying to get her to kick. A few names were tossed around, but they hadn’t settled on anything yet. 

Peter then told MJ about what had happened when she just disappeared. There was no evidence of her being kidnapped, but Peter refused to believe that she would leave him without an explanation. They had spent weeks trying to find anything that could give them a location of where MJ was. 

A few hours later, Tony finally came back. His face was dark and he was holding a folder in his hands. “I found her. I found the doctor.” 

“Who is she?” Peter gave MJ a nervous look. 

“Her name is Olivia Octavious. She is a biochemist studying gene mutation. She had applied to work under the direction of Dr. Cho as a way to get access to our files. HYDRA seems to be trying to figure out how to recreate Peter’s powers. It took some hard digging, because she had hacked into FRIDAY and erased all video footage, but I was able to recover it. MJ had walked in on her downloading some files. When she learned that the baby was Spider-Man’s, it was the perfect opportunity for them. I had FRIDAY search through all conversations Octavious had while in the building. There was one phone call FRIDAY showed me from when she first started working here. I have it here for you to watch.”

Tony held out a small device from which a screen projected the video. Dr. Octavious was alone in the Medbay with a phone held up to her ear. “I don’t care what Knox says, I am going to stay until I get the information I came for. I already have a lot of information of the spider guy, and I know who he is. His name is Peter Parker, he’s just some guy from Queens.” There was a pause while the person on the other end asked a question. “No, he wouldn’t be willing to do that. Stark’s all but adopted this kid. We need to find another way to get that spider DNA. He doesn’t realize it yet, but Starks gonna realize that he’s wrong, we do need more enhanced people. If people think he’s on board with this, they’ll be more willing to help. We just got to keep telling them we’re following Starks orders.” The woman chuckled before hanging up the phone. The video ended. 

“I’ve got FRIDAY keeping an eye out for any movement from Octavious. As soon as she’s spotted we’ll take her down.” Tony said as he closed the projection. 

“How do we know Dr. Cho isn’t working with HYDRA?” MJ questioned. 

“I’ve known Cho for years, I trust her with my life. Besides, she’s very much against making an army of enhanced people.” There was no room for doubt in Tony’s statement. 

“I’m sorry.” MJ spoke softly after she had fully understood everything Tony had told/shown them. 

“What? What do you have to be sorry about? If anything, I should be the one apologizing for not trying harder to find you.” Peter reached out his hand to cup her cheek, moving her head until they were making eye contact. 

She leaned into the touch for a moment before turning her head to look at Tony. “I’m sorry I accused you of hurting me.”

Tony shook his head quickly, his eyebrows raised in shock and confusion. “No. You don’t have to apologize for that. Anyone in your situation would have thought the same thing, I know I would have.”

MJ gave him a soft smile before nodding her head. She leaned further into Peter’s side. Exhaustion seeping from every part of part of her body. Did you know your toes could feel exhausted? MJ sure didn’t. 

“Why don’t we let you sleep.” Peter asked, already helping MJ lay down completely. 

“No, no I’m fine.” She argued. “I want to see Pepper. And Morgan.” She let out a big yawn. 

“Pepper and Morgan can come when you wake up. We’ll go fill them, well Pepper, in on everything.” Peter offered pulling a blanket over her. MJ just hummed in agreement, allowing her eyes to fall shut. 

When Peter tried to slip away without jostling her, MJ reached her hand out quickly grabbing onto his shirt. “Please don’t go.”

Nodding his head, Peter quickly readjusted, his arms wrapped around her, and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Tony, will you let Pepper know?”

“Of course kiddo. You take care of her. FRIDAY, turn the lights down to ten percent.”

~~~~~

“You know the drill, clothes off.” One of the guards said, there was a glint in his eyes that told MJ something bad was going to happen. 

She knew not to fight it, so MJ stripped down like she did everyday, her eyes glued to the floor. She blinked back the tears in her eyes. 

Heavy footsteps made their way towards her and she flinched as hard, calloused hands ran down her back before making their way to her front. The man said nothing as he grabbed one of her breasts and massaged it with one hand. The other hand worked his way down her stomach slowly getting closer and closer…

~~~~~

MJ woke, a scream tearing through her lips. Her breathing was shallow and she was covered in sweat. Looking around the room, MJ sighed when she remembered she was safe. It was just a dream.

“MJ?” Peter asked cautiously.

“Sorry” she answered. “It was just a dream.” 

Peter understood how horrible nightmares could be. He pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s okay. You’re alright.” 

MJ couldn’t help the sob that broke through. She clutched onto Peter tightly, her tears soaking his shirt as she cried. 

Peter held MJ close and he whispered quiet reassurances to her. After a few minutes, her breathing slowed and she slipped back to sleep. 

When they both awoke the next morning, they were surprised to find that there hadn’t been anymore nightmares. MJ snuggled into Peter for a while until the growling of his stomach demanded food. “I’ve missed that.” MJ chuckled quietly. 

“Yeah, it’s like a built in alarm clock.” Peter mused as he helped MJ to her feet. 

Peter went to the kitchen to make breakfast while MJ took a shower. She came out wearing sweatpants and one of Peter’s t-shirts. Her hair in a messy bun on top of her head. 

Peter bounded over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He leaned forward and kissed her deeply. Only breaking when the timer on the oven went off. “I made breakfast.” He announced when he leaned back. 

“You sure it’s edible? Last I remember, you were a terrible cook.” MJ shot back smirking. 

“I’ve improved.” He said with a shrug.

“Oh really? What changed?” 

A small blush spread across Peter’s face as he looked at her sheepishly. “Pepper banned me from the kitchen for a month after I started a small fire. She then only let me cook with her until she deemed me capable.” 

“Hmm,” she hummed unimpressed. “So, if you’re so capable, why then is our breakfast currently burning in the oven?” 

Peter’s eyes widened as he remembered the timer going off. He quickly open the oven door and pulled out the pan. The breakfast casserole was only slightly burnt, so Peter was still proud. 

After breakfast, Peter texted Tony to ask about Pepper and Morgan coming to see MJ. He immediately received a response. 

Pepper had a meeting this morning at SI, but she said she will be back by 11. We could order in and have lunch? 

sure! Sounds great!>

The baby is craving Thai. 

nvm sorry, MJ says I can’t use the baby as an excuse to get what I want.

But apparently she can... The baby wants burgers. 

more specifically, the baby wants burgers from that one place by the bowling alley where the waiter dropped all of our drinks when he saw who you were. 

we can do both. 

MJ says the baby wants both…

....and a milkshake. 

The rest of the morning was spent talking about baby names and watching movies. Before they knew it, there was a knock at the door and Peter was going to answer it. MJ sat up on the couch and folded the blanket they had been using. 

Peter had barely opened the door when Morgan came running in. As soon as she saw MJ she squealed and ran over to give her a hug. MJ was quick to reciprocate the hug smiling brightly as she buried her face into Morgan’s hair. 

When MJ finally pulled back from the hug she saw Morgan was crying. “What’s wrong Morgan?” 

“Nothing. I’m just so happy. I missed you and I was worried you didn’t like me anymore.” Morgan replied sniffling. 

MJ reached up to wipe the tears from Morgan’s cheeks. “I missed you to Morgan. So so much. I’m happy I can be back with my best friend again.” She said smiling down at the girl. 

“Can we have another tea party? Like we used to before you went bye bye?” 

“Well of course! And maybe we can convince your parents to let you have a sleepover with Peter and I sometime soon.” MJ whispered so only the girl could hear. 

Morgan jumped up quickly and ran to her parents. “Mommy, Daddy can I have a sleepover with MJ soon?” 

Tony eyed MJ for a moment and then answered after he received a nod from her. “That sounds like it could be fun. We’ll have to plan one.” 

Satisfied with the answer, Morgan was quick to return to MJ’s side. 

Pepper cleared her throat. There were tears in her eyes as she walked over and gave MJ a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay” she whispered. 

Tony motioned for Peter and Morgan to help him get lunch ready so that the two women could have a moment. They had just finished setting the table when the two women joined them in the kitchen. 

The conversation flowed smoothly and was mainly focused on what MJ had missed while she was gone. Morgan still didn’t know exactly what happened, so the adults were careful not to mention anything about the kidnapping. 

After they had cleared the table and put away any leftovers, they sat down in the living room to watch a movie. 

“Oh we forgot to tell you!” Peter said halfway through the movie. “We know the gender.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell us sooner.” Pepper asked. 

“Is it a girl? Please tell me it’s a girl.” Morgan added. 

“Well, are you gonna keep us waiting longer or are you gonna tell us?” Tony griped. 

“It’s a…” Peter paused for effect 

“Girl.” MJ finishes for him. 

“Yes!” Morgan shouted. 

“Oh, I’ve still got so many of Morgan’s old baby clothes you can use.” Gushed Pepper. 

“Oh no, they’ve got us out numbered two to one Peter. This could end badly.” Teased Tony. 

The excitement of knowing the gender made it difficult for anyone to focus on the movie.


	5. Explanations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I currently have no schedule planned out for how often I'll be posting, but I am really hoping to have this all done before I go on a cruise in a week. No promises though, because I honestly have no clue where I am taking this or how long I plan to make it. A small part of me wants to delete it completely because it's kind of trash, but at the same time, I am curious to see where this goes. Thanks to those of you who are reading this story, let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas!

Two weeks of being home and MJ had yet to go a night without dreaming of the guards from the HYDRA base.This dream was different from the rest. Usually her dreams were like memories, but tonight Peter was there. His lifeless eyes staring into hers as his body lay limp on the ground. The bullet hole dripping blood from the center of his forehead. MJ had tried to get out of her restraints. Tried to plead from him to wake up, a scream forming in the back of her throat. 

MJ’s eyes shot open as she sat up quickly, the scream echoing around the quiet room. Like every night, she looked to her left to find Peter sitting up next to her, waiting for her to become fully aware of her surroundings before he would pull her into his arms. This time though, MJ hopped out of bed without saying a word to him. She made her way to the bathroom, barely making it in time to the toilet before she was throwing up. The last image of her dream vivid every time she closed her eyes. 

Peter was by her side within seconds, holding her hair back and rubbing soothing circles on her back. When she finished he helped her sit back against the wall. “Sorry,” MJ reached up to wipe the tears that had fallen from her eyes. She had only been sick a few times early on in her pregnancy and was grateful she didn’t have terrible morning sickness like most expecting mothers.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Peter was quick to reassure, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. “Are you feeling better?”

She nodded her head before leaning it against his shoulder. A quick look at the small clock they had in the bathroom showed it was just after 3:00am. MJ wasn’t tired, she never was after a nightmare, the adrenaline from her dream still pumping through her. 

Slowly, MJ stood up from the floor with a little help from Peter. While her baby bump wasn’t too large yet, MJ was already feeling the effects of carrying around the extra weight. Standing up or bending over took a lot more effort than it ever did before. 

The couple climbed back in their bed despite knowing that neither of them would be falling back asleep. They usually spent the time just snuggled up, trapped in their thoughts, waiting for morning to arrive. Peter knew MJ had a hard time talking about her dreams. So while he always offered to listen, he never forced her to tell him. 

Morning came quickly and MJ was first to slip out of bed to take a shower. The slight sting of the hot water, helping to shake the last thoughts of her dream from her mind. She stepped out of the shower and was careful to avoid seeing the pink scars that littered her back. The words that were once readable had been distorted when they were overlapped by a new word. Only one word was able to be read clearly, right between her shoulders, repeatedly carved to ensure the scar never faded.   
HYDRA.

Wrapping herself in a towel, MJ walked from the bathroom to the large walk-in closet. Pepper had insisted on buying MJ a whole new wardrobe of maternity clothes. She pulled on the first comfy outfit she could find, not really paying much attention to what she grabbed. Taking a look in the mirror, MJ laughed when she noticed she was wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt. She shrugged before sliding on a light jacket, making sure to leave it unzipped. 

A knock on their door, drew MJ’s attention from her shirt. Throwing her hair into its normal messy bun, she walked into the living room to see Peter talking to Tony in the doorway. Making her way further in the room she saw that Peter was in the middle of making blueberry pancakes. The two men were talking in hushed tones and had yet to realize she had come out of the bedroom, so MJ went to work on finishing the pancakes. It was only when she poured more batter onto the skillet that Peter turned to see her in the kitchen. He then invited Tony in, sagging his shoulders in what she recognized as defeat as he went to stand by her side.

“Good Morning MJ!” Tony greeted cheerfully. He had a large smile plastered on his face. It was the same one he used with the press or when he wanted something. 

MJ took a moment to scan Tony, searching for any clues as to what he was doing there. With one eyebrow quirked she narrowed her eyes at him. “You want something.”

Tony looked surprised at being called out, but the smile quickly dropped from his face and a slight frown took its place. “All right, straight to the point.” Tony set his shoulders back and took a deep breath. “I found Octavious. She’s been hiding out in DC since the raid on the HYDRA base. Early this morning she used her phone to call a man by the name of Hans Felix, who we believe to be a HYDRA general. FRIDAY was able to hack into the call. They know you are back at the Tower with us and are waiting for an opportunity to get you again.”

MJ felt the blood leaving her face and the room spin. Peter quickly lead her to the living room where he helped her sit on one of the couches. Her breath caught in her throat and soon she was gasping for air, the edges of her vision going blurry. Peter knelt in front of her, hands cupping her face so he could make eye contact. “Breathe, MJ. You need to take deep breaths for me. Following my breathing. Come on, you can do it. Good. Just like that.” Closing her eyes, MJ leaned her head forward against Peter’s shoulder as she regained control of her breathing. 

“We’re not going to let anything happen to you.” Tony reassured. “I’ve already worked on a few upgrades for FRIDAY to make sure no one can slip through undetected and I have a few other ideas to keep you safe, but I wanted your approval first.” MJ gave a little nod for him to continue. “I think it would be best to fill the rest of the Avengers in on the situation. The more people who can provide safety, the better.”

“Okay, I can handle that. What other ideas do you have?” MJ answered as she slipped her hand into Peters. 

“Clint Barton owns a farm completely off the map where his family lives. Only a select few know the exact location, all of those people are either his family or an Avenger. Until we are able to stop HYDRA from coming after you, I think it would be smart for you and Peter to go stay there for a while.” Tony paused for a moment to see how they would react. When neither made a move to speak he continued. “After we talk to the rest of the team, a few of us will fly out to DC tonight to find Dr. Octavious. The information we get from her will help us determine what to do next.”

Peter gave MJ’s hand a tight squeeze as he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. “We’ll figure this out. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you or our baby.”

An hour later Tony, Peter, MJ, and Pepper found themselves in one of the conference rooms, waiting for the all of the Avengers to fly in from the compound in upstate New York. Happy had already been filled in on the situation, so he volunteered to watch Morgan in the penthouse. The Avengers had heard of MJ and knew that she and Peter were dating, but they had never been introduced. So when everyone walked into the room, their eyes immediately shot to her and they passed curious glaces to each other. 

“Tony,” Steve said carefully as he motioned with his chin towards MJ, “Who is she?”

“This is MJ. Peter’s girlfriend.” Tony answered casually. 

“I thought she left.” Natasha pointed out. The bite to her tone was clear. MJ couldn’t blame her, not after hearing Peter talk about how much of a mess he was for the first few months and learning that he spent a month moping around the compound. She would be wary to trust the person who seemingly hurt someone she cares about.

Peter stiffened next to MJ, preparing to jump to defend her if needed. It wasn’t that he thought the Avengers would hurt her, but after hearing what happened to her, he was a little over protective. In the two weeks MJ has been back, Peter has yet to leave her alone, besides letting her shower or use the restroom. 

Knowing that Peter was close to snapping, MJ placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and then look Natasha in the eye. “I didn’t leave. I was kidnapped.” Telling the story the second time, was much harder than the first. Peter eventually had to finish explaining everything once MJ’s breathing started to pick up and she couldn’t bring herself to say anything else. It was like reliving the whole thing again. The room fell silent after Tony told everyone the current plan of action. Clint had easily agreed to Peter and MJ staying at his farm. He even mentioned how his boys would be excited to play with Peter and how his wife and daughter would be thrilled to help MJ with anything baby related. Steve, Wanda, and Rhodey had volunteered to go to DC with Tony. Natasha and Sam would fly out with Peter and MJ the next morning to Clint’s farm and stay with them until Dr. Octavious was found.


	6. Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again,   
> So this chapter has a little more fluff and a little less story progression. I'm trying to make this story a little more enjoyable than just a straight forward action to action thing. At some point I might go back and rework some of the previous chapters but there's no promises. I'll let y'all know when/if I do. 
> 
> Also, quick side not of the behind the scenes from this inexperienced author: I struggle so SO much when it comes to not having a character say "Y'all". I'm from the south and it's ingrained in my mental dictionary and it almost physically hurts when I have to erase it and then type "You all" instead. (Yes, I'm being dramatic, but let me have my moment) 
> 
> Anyway, Thanks for listening to my rant and Thank you for reading my story! Any comments, ideas, or suggestions are super appreciated!

After their meeting with the Avengers, Peter and MJ asked if Dr. Cho would do another check up on the baby and MJ. They met in the medbay where the doctor had everything set up and soon MJ was on the exam table having the ultrasound probe pushing against her stomach while the flutter of the baby’s heartbeat echoed in the room. MJ could listen to that sound all day. It was a huge comfort to know their baby was healthy, especially after everything MJ had had to endure. 

When Dr. Cho gave the all clear, Peter and MJ made their way back to Tony and Pepper’s apartment to show off the 3D ultrasound pictures Dr. Cho had given them. They stepped off the elevator into the penthouse to a room full of Avengers. Sam, Clint, Wanda, Rhodey, and Natasha were focused on an intense game of Uno. Steve was in the kitchen with Tony, going over plans for their attack on Dr. Octavious. And Pepper was curled on the couch reading, while Morgan was coloring in a princess coloring book. No one seemed to notice them until high pitch squeal reverberated off the walls. “Petey! MJ! Baby!” Morgan had jumped up and was bouncing across the couch. Peter caught her just as she lept off the arm of the chair. The trust that kids put into adults can be a little nerve wracking. 

“Little miss, what is the rule about jumping on the couch?” Peter reached up and held her cheeks squished in one hand in mock discipline. 

The small twinkle in her eye gave off the telltale sign of mischief. “Only do it when mom and dad aren’t here to see?” She asked in an innocent little voice. “Oh, and you have to remember to tell FRIDAY not to tell dad.”

Peters eyes widened the more she spoke, he look up to see the unimpressed look Tony and Pepper were both giving him. Turning his attention back to Morgan he whined, “That was supposed to be our secret!” 

“Mommy says I’m not aloud to keep secrets anymore.” She replied with a shug. “She says secrets only lead to bad things, like how Daddy keeps it a secret from Mommy when he gives me juice pops before bed and then I wake up with a tummy ache.”

Pepper raised an eyebrow as she slowly turned to a sheepish looking Tony. “Exactly, Morgan. Are there anymore secrets that Daddy is keeping from me?” 

“Uh-huh, FRIDAY tells me all of the secrets, like when he tells me to stay in my playroom while you two go play in your room, FRIDAY says you’re not really playing.”

Everyone broke out into laughter at Morgan’s answer, with the exception of Morgan, Tony, Pepper. Morgan with all her innocence, just looked confused. Pepper and Tony both looked mortified, their mouths gaping and eyes bulging. “Did FRIDAY tell you what we were doing?” Tony asked carefully. 

“Uh-huh, She says you’re….”

“Okay! We’ll talk about that later. First I need to rework some of FRIDAY’s code.” 

“This is what I live for!” Clint wheezed, tears streaming down his face. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Tony waved him off. “I'm ordering out, what does everyone want for dinner?”

With dinner ordered, Peter and MJ pulled out the ultrasound pictures and passed them around the room. Pepper looked like she was near tears and asked if she could keep one. Soon everyone was settling back into their various activities. MJ had walked into the kitchen to get some water when Natasha asked to talk to her. Grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, MJ followed the assassin to Tony’s office, glancing back at Peter who looked just as confused as she felt. Once the doors were closed Natasha turned to face MJ. She took a deep breath as she sat in one of the armchairs, motioning for MJ to do the same. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. I assumed the worst of you when we met earlier today and it wasn’t fair to you.”

MJ’s eyebrows shot up. An apology was the last thing she had expected from the bad ass super spy. “You - you don’t need to apologize.” She tried to reassure but that just caused Natasha to frown. “I mean, I would have done the same thing. You thought I hurt Peter and were just looking out for him. I don’t blame you.”

If she didn’t know any better, MJ would have thought Natasha looked a little nervous.”No, it’s not just that.” She paused for a moment and then sighed. “I’m not very good at this whole ‘allowing myself to feel’ thing. It’s still engraved into my head from when I was younger that emotions make you weak. There’s not many people I would die for, but Peter is one of them. I don’t know if he’s told you, but he was a wreck those first couple months you were gone. He closed himself off from everyone. It wasn’t until a week went by when Tony broke down the door to find the apartment torn apart with a sobbing Peter on the floor, that he told someone you were gone. Peter had spent that entire time searching through all of FRIDAY’s databases, never once stopping to sleep and barely eating anything.”  
“Tony brought Peter to the compound to get away from the city. They both spent every waking hour searching through every security camera they could hack to try to find you. Eventually they stopped looking, but it didn’t mean Peter stopped hurting. I sat with him too many times as he had panic attacks or cried himself to sleep. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.”

“So yes, I was angry when I saw you were back. And I was angry when you said you were pregnant with his baby. My first thought when you were telling us about being kidnapped was that you made it up, but then Tony showed us the video footage of that doctor. I felt bad that I didn’t believe you, but I still wanted to protect Peter from getting hurt again and I was angry at you for coming back.”

MJ didn’t know what to say to that. She just stared at her hands avoiding eye contact. Natasha was right, she shouldn’t have agreed to come back to the tower. MJ knew that coming back was risky, but she was being too selfish to care about the danger that Peter was now facing. She could still leave. It would be hard, but if it was for Peter she could do it. 

As if she could hear her thoughts, Natasha continued. “I know it doesn’t make sense why I’m telling you all this but I’m not angry at you anymore and I don’t think you should leave. I saw a happiness in Peter today that I haven’t seen in the six months you were gone. I don’t think he would recover if anything happened to you again. I guess what I’m trying to get at is that I am sorry I was angry. You are important to Peter and I want to make an effort to get to know you. I hope you can forgive me.”

Lifting her head, MJ finally made eye contact with Natasha and tried to give her a sincere smile. “Of course I can forgive you. I didn’t know just how bad it had been for Peter so I’m glad he has you in his corner. Thank you.” 

There was silence in the room for a moment before MJ got a huge grin on her face. “She’s kicking! You wanna feel?” The two women sat in the office feeling the baby kick while talking about all the things her Auntie Nat can teach her, until FRIDAY informed them the food had arrived. 

The next morning was busy. Pepper had decided last minute that she and Morgan would join the group going to Clint’s farm. Morgan was excited to go and spent most of breakfast explaining to her mom why it was absolutely vital for her to bring every single one of her baby dolls, including all the clothes and accessories. It wasn’t until Pepper threatened to donate all of Morgan’s dolls that the young girl quieted down and ate her food, agreeing to only take two dolls with one extra outfit each. 

Within the next hour Peter, MJ, Sam, Pepper, and Morgan were seated in the back of the quinjet, while Natasha was flying them to the farm. It was a three hour flight so Peter had set up a projection on one wall so that they could watch a movie. MJ fell asleep thirty minutes into the movie. Thankfully, she didn’t dream this time.   
When the plane landed, everyone gathered their bags - and in Morgan’s case her dolls - and walked down the ramp off the jet. The farm was huge and surrounded by a large forest of trees. In the middle of the huge field was a picture perfect farm style house, looking like it was fresh off of Pinterest. The exterior was a dark blue with white trims lining the windows and doors. Along the base of the house was a stone accent that went up the wall four feet. A large covered porch wrapped around the front of the house, with large wooden pillars placed every five feet to support the roof. 

Walking towards them was a young looking brown haired woman with three kids following behind her, which MJ could only assume was Clint’s family. She stood back while everyone greeted each other, but Peter was quick to grab her hand and introduce her to Clint’s wife, Laura, and their three kids, Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel.

“It is so nice to meet you, Michelle. Clint called me yesterday and filled me in on some of the important details, so please let me know if I can do anything for you.” Laura said sweetly. 

“Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to host all of us.” MJ felt guilty that they were imposing on this family, but Peter wouldn’t allow her to apologize to anyone. He said MJ was part of the family now and they were all happy to help. She didn’t argue with him on that, but she made it her goal to stay as quiet and under the radar as possible. 

Laura led everyone inside for lunch and soon after the kids, and Peter, were playing tag in the yard. The Barton home had a family vibe to it. There were toys scattered in the living room, hand drawn pictures clipped to the fridge, and family pictures along the walls. MJ felt herself relax as she looked around. On the main level they had a kitchen, living room, dining room, office and two bedrooms, one of which was the master bedroom. The second story had four bedrooms and a large playroom. They also had a basement, which had been converted into a movie room with a large screen spanning over one wall and a projector hanging from the ceiling. As for sleeping arrangements, Morgan would share a room with Lila, Pepper would take the second bedroom on the main floor, Natasha and Sam would each take one of the second floor rooms, and Peter and MJ would sleep in the movie room on an air mattress. There had been a brief argument about MJ needing to sleep in a real bed, but she quickly declined and used the excuse of watching movies while she fell asleep. In all reality, MJ would have been content to sleep on a couch or even the floor to keep from being a nuisance to anyone. 

After she set her bag in her’s and Peter’s makeshift bedroom, MJ decided to go outside. There was a large wooden swing on one end of the porch that she would make good use of, but for now she walked along the tree line, just taking in the fresh air. The was a run down red barn not far from the house and a large pond at the edge of the farm. Through the trees, MJ could see what looked like an electric fence which seemingly wrapped around the property. She also saw a few cameras hidden high in the trees, which didn’t surprise her. An avenger’s family lived here, of course they would have cameras surrounding the place. 

Once she made her lap around the yard, MJ grabbed a book from her bag and sat on the wooden swing with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She watched a little as Peter was tackled to the ground by the four kids and couldn’t help the smile that formed at the thought of Peter playing with their little girl. MJ was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice Laura sitting on the swing next to her. “It’s hard to remember the bad things when there’s so many good things in front of you.”

MJ jumped a little in surprise and turned her attention to Laura, a small smile on her lips once it clicked in her mind what she had said. “Yeah, it really is. While I will never forget what I’ve been through, it’s not the first thing I think of when I wake up anymore. Peter’s made sure of that. He talks so much about our future that the past is almost forgotten.”

“I get that.” Both women watched as Peter ran around with Morgan on his shoulders, the other three kids chasing after them. “Clint told me what the men at the HYDRA base did to you.” MJ shuddered at the thought. The memories were still fresh in her mind and her stomach would drop whenever she thought about it. 

She hadn’t noticed she closed her eyes until they opened when Laura spoke again. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not easy to talk about. Clint thinks I shouldn’t talk to you about it, but I couldn’t shake the thought.” Laura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Did you know that Cooper isn’t biologically Clint’s son? Not many people do, they just assume that he is, but he’s been there from the very beginning of the pregnancy, so it doesn’t actually matter if it’s biologically or not, Clint is his father. Anyway, I was dating this guy, Jack, in college when I met Clint. We immediately hit it off and became good friends. I didn’t realize it until a month had gone by, but I had fallen in love with him. So I broke up with my current boyfriend. Jack got really mad and when I tried to leave he tied me to his bed and raped me. He kept me in his apartment for two days and raped me over and over. I got out when Clint came looking for me. Clint took me to my apartment and helped me get cleaned up. He stayed with me for a week before I was able to take care of myself again. Two months later, after Clint and I were dating, I found out I was pregnant and I immediately knew it wasn’t Clint’s. Right before I had the baby Clint and I got married. It was fast, but it felt right. We did a blood test after Cooper was born and I was afraid Clint would leave me, but he just shrugged his shoulders and held our son in his arms. I like to think that Peter is taking care of you the way Clint took care of me. Just seeing the way he looks at you I can tell he loves you very much. Earlier when I said that I would help you with anything you need, I didn’t just mean physically. I know we just met and I understand if you don’t want to talk, but I’m here if you need someone to listen or give advice to you.”

MJ felt the tears forming in her eyes as she leaned over to give Laura a hug. Unlike everyone else who could only try to imagine her pain, Laura had been through something similar and MJ felt understood. She hadn’t noticed how alone she had been feeling. It was like one of the many weights sitting on her had been lifted and she could now breathe a little easier. “Thank you.” MJ whispered. It was all she could manage through tightness in her throat. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that while Natasha can easily school her emotions to outsiders, she tries to be more vulnerable with those she actually cares about. 
> 
> Also, I have never been sexually assaulted, but I had a friend who was raped and the hardest part for her was feeling alone in her recovery. She had so many people supporting her, but none of us truly knew what was going through her mind. It wasn't until she went to a support group with other women who had been raped that she felt understood. That's kind of what I was going for at the end, but I really was/am having a hard time putting it into words. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading! Leave a comment or kudos if you're enjoying this so far! (I'll also accept a happy thought sent my way..even if you don't like the story.) :D


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